A word that sounds the same but has a different meaning and spelling

This word set can be confusing, even for word geeks. Let’s start with the basics. A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another word but has a different sound and a different meaning:

lead (to go in front of)/lead (a metal)

wind (to follow a course that is not straight)/wind (a gust of air)

bass (low, deep sound)/bass (a type of fish)

A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word but has a different meaning. Homophones may or may not have the same spelling. Here are some examples:

to/two/too

there/their/they’re

pray/prey

Not so bad, right? The ending –graph means drawn or written, so a homograph has the same spelling. The –phone ending means sound or voice, so a homophone has the same pronunciation. But here’s where it gets tricky. Depending on whom you talk to, homonym means either:

A word that is spelled like another but has a different sound and meaning (homograph); a word that sounds like another but has a different spelling and meaning (homophone)

OR

A word that is spelled and pronounced like another but has a different meaning (homograph and homophone)

So does a homonym have to be both a homograph and a homophone, or can it be just one or the other? As with most things in life, it depends on whom you ask.

In the strictest sense, a homonym must be both a homograph and a homophone. So say many dictionaries. However, other dictionaries allow that a homonym can be a homograph or a homophone.

With so many notable resources pointing to the contrary, are we losing this strict meaning? What then will we call a word that is spelled and pronounced the same as another but has a different meaning? If homonym retains all these meanings, how will readers know what is actually meant?

The careful writer would do well to follow the strict sense, ensuring his meaning is understood immediately.

This is the second blog post in a three-part series on the relationships between the pronunciation of English words and their spellings. Follow the links for part one of the series on Silent Letters and part three on the Sound System of American English.

As mentioned in the previous blog post, it often happens that the spelling of an English word doesn’t match up well with its pronunciation. There’s another category of word that can also cause confusion; these are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. These words are called “homophones”. If you memorize the most common homophones in English, then you will avoid a lot of potential confusion in your communications. An added bonus of memorizing common homophones is that you will be able to easily understand many jokes, puns, and plays on words that you encounter (or even spice up your conversations by creating such plays on words yourself!)

Without further ado, here is a chart of some of the most common sets of homophones in English. Remember, all of the words in the left column are pronounced the same way. That is, if you say “ate, eight” out loud, then it should sound exactly the same as if you said “ate, ate” or “eight, eight”.

Spelling:	Pronounced:
ad, add	ad
Adam, atom	AD-um
air, err, heir	air
aisle, isle, I’ll	AI-ull
aloud, allowed	uh-LOUD
altar, alter	ALL-ter
ant, aunt	ant
assent, ascent	uh-SENT
ate, eight	ate
bail, bale	bale
ball, bawl	bawl
band, banned	band
bazaar, bizarre	buh-ZAR
bare, bear	bare (rhymes with “air”)
base, bass (instrument)	base (rhymes with “ace”)
be, bee	bee
beat, beet	beet
berry, bury	berry
bin, been	bin
billed, build	bild
bite, byte	byte
blew, blue	bloo
board, bored	bord
brake, break	brake
buy, by, bye	by
carrot, karat	KARE-ut
cell, sell	sell
cent, sent, scent	sent
cereal, serial	serial
chili, chilly, Chile	chill-ee
chews, choose	chooz
cite, site, sight	site
close, clothes	kloz
core, corps	kor
course, coarse	korss
creek, creak	creek
cue, queue	kyoo
days, daze	daze
deer, dear	deer
die, dye	dye
do, due, dew	doo
fair, fare	fare
faze, phase	faze
finish, Finnish	finish
find, fined	find
feudal, futile	FYU-dul
flea, flee	flee
feat, feet	feet
flower, flour	FLOW-er (“flow” rhymes with “cow”)
for, four	for
fowl, foul	FOW-ul
great, grate	grate
groan, grown	grone
Greece, grease	grees
guest, guessed	gest (rhymes with “best”)
gym, Jim	jim
hair, hare	hair
hall, haul	hawl
heal, heel	heel
hear, here	heer
heed, he’d	heed
herd, heard	herd
him, hymn	him
hire, higher	hi-er
hole, whole	hol
horse, hoarse	horse
hostel, hostile	HAHST-ul
hurts, hertz	herts
I, eye	AI
in, inn	in
intense, intents	intense
jewels, joules	joolz
lessen, lesson	less-in
maid, made	made
mail, male	male
manner, manor	manner
meat, meet	meet
metal, medal, meddle	MED-ul
need, knead	need
new, knew	noo
no, know	no
nose, knows	noz
not, knot	not
nun, none	nun
oh, owe	oh
one, won	wun
or, oar	or
our, hour	ow-er
pail, pale	pale
pair, pare, pear	pare
past, passed	past
peace, piece	peese
peer, pier	peer
plane, plain	plane
poll, pole	poll
pour, pore	pore
prince, prints	prins
principal, principle	PRINCE-i-pul
profit, prophet	PRAH-fit
rain, rein, reign	rane
rap, wrap	rap
red, read	red
right, write, rite, wright	rite
ring, wring	ring
road, rode, rowed	rode
roll, role	roll
root, route	root
sail, sale	sale
sea, see	see
seam, seem	seem
seas, sees, seize	seez
seen, scene	seen
seller, cellar	seller
side, sighed	side
so, sow, sew	so
sole, soul, Seoul	sole
some, sum	sum
son, sun	sun
stair, stare	stare
steal, steel	steel
sweet, suite	sweet
sword, soared	sord
tail, tale	tale
taught, taut	tawt
tear (meaning: drop of water), tier	teer
tear (meaning: rip), tare	tair
tense, tents	tense
there, their, they’re	thair
threw, through	threw
thrown, throne	throne
tie, Thai	tye
to, too, two	too
tow, toe	toe
vain, vein	vain
way, weigh	way
wait, weight	wait
weather, whether	wether
week, weak	week
where, wear, ware	ware
which, witch	witch
whose, who’s	hooz
will, we’ll	will
wood, would	wood
wore, war	wore
worn, warn	worn
your, you’re	yer

Do you have further questions about American English, or are you interested in accent training? Reach out and contact me!

The English language doesn’t make it easy to have flawless writing. In fact, it can be downright complicated especially with the number of words that sound the same, but have a different spelling and a different meaning.  If writing in English is  your job or some aspect of your job, it is so important to have all t’s crossed and i’s dotted. This is the hallmark of a good transcriber and a good writer.  Because of words that are pronounced the same but have a different spelling, a writer can create confusion for the reader and reflect poorly on the writer’s skills if  those pesky words are not caught during proofreading.

Words that sound the same, but are spelled differently are  homonyms, a great sounding word for a quirky little part of the English language meant  to slip up the average spellcheck on your computer. You must be hyper-vigilent for the possibilities of these little words slipping in and ruining what may have been a perfectly good document or transcription.

I’ve listed a few words here (or is it hear?) that are common culprits. Let’s have a go at this –words with the  same sound,  different spelling:

Pear           Pare              Pair

Be               Bee

Lye              Lie

Fair             Fare

Bass            Base

Bow             Bough

Lead             Led

Too               To                 Two

Their            There           They’re

Mail              Male

Plane            Plain

Genes           Jeans

Deer              Dear

Hear              Here

Right            Write

Dye                Die

Week            Weak

Prey              Pray

Bridal           Bridle

Site                Cite                Sight

Principle      Principal

Buy                Bye

Yes, these are just a few of the  little words that can trip up any  simple spellcheck. I’m sure you can add more. Happily, there are some grammar and spellcheck programs that can ferret out homonyms. Still, good transcribers and writers should be on the lookout for  the homonym when proofreading. As with any other grammatical or spelling error, there is always the chance that a homonym may sneak through. Flawless is what we aim for in our writing, certainly in any transcription business, and one homonym can ruin that.

So, the lesson in this writing is transcribers and writers must remain alert for the spoilers, the homonyms, the unique words that sound the same, but have a different spelling and a different meaning. They can be the weak (or is it week?) spot in your writing.

Write On!

Explore posts in the same categories: Writing Tutorial

This entry was posted on July 3, 2013 at 10:32 am and is filed under Writing Tutorial. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post’s comments.

Tags: English language, homonyms, transcriber, transcription

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.

What Is a Homophone?

A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but is usually spelled differently and has a different meaning. Homophones may consist of two or more words, although pairs are more common than three or more words that sound the same. Examples of homophones that have three words are to, too, and two, and their, there, and they’re.

The English language is, honestly, a bit of a mess, and homophones are extra tricky. Today, we’re learning what homophones are, how to use them correctly, and where you can find homophones hiding in English.

What Is the Difference between Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs?

Do homophones always have different spellings? Well, it depends on who you ask. Let’s look at some other types of tricky words.

There are homophones, homographs, and homonyms. That’s enough to make anyone’s head spin! How do you tell the difference?

We can start by looking at the etymology of the words. The prefix homo- means «same.» The root phone comes from the Greek word phonos, which means «sound.» That means a homophone has the same sound. You can remember this by thinking of a phone, which we hear sounds through.

An example of a homophone pair is fare and fair. They sound alike but have different meanings. They are also spelled differently.

The root graph derives from the Greek graphein, which means «to write.» Same + write tells us that homographs are words that are written the same. They have the same spelling but different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations. Remember this by thinking of graphite, the part of a pencil that writes.

Now, let’s look at homonyms. Nym comes from the Greek word for «name.» Homonym means «same name,» but the definition of a homonym really depends on who you ask.

Some resources say that “homonym” only applies to words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently in addition to having different definitions. In other words, it’s a homograph that does not sound alike.

In this strict sense, an example is bow. If you pronounce bow with a short /o/ sound, it can mean a part of a ship. If you pronounce it with a long /o/ sound, it’s something that shoots arrows.

Other resources say that a homonym is a word that is both a homophone and a homograph. It sounds the same, looks the same, and has different meanings.

One example of a homonym using this definition would be pitcher. It can mean the person who throws the ball in baseball or a vessel for pouring water. They sound the same and look the same, but they have different meanings.

Still others think that homonym is more of an umbrella term. Homophones and homographs are both types of homonyms. This is the definition we will use.

Now that you know the difference between the types of homonyms, let’s learn about homophones in more detail.

Do Homophones Rhyme?

Homophones rhyme because they are words that sound alike. When words rhyme, they have the same ending vowel sound. All homophones are rhymes, but not all rhymes are homophones.

What Are the Most Common Homophones in English?

There are thousands of English homophones. It’s hard to pin down an exact number because some words are homophones depending on regional accents. For example, sometimes people say «then» and «than» exactly the same, while others emphasize the differing vowel sounds.

Here are a few examples of common English homophones. We’ll go into more detail on some of these in a later section:

• to/too/two
• there/their/they’re
• which/witch
• way/weigh
• by/bye/buy
• whether/weather
• accept/except
• one/won
• you’re/your
• here/hear

These are just a few of the most commonly confused homophones in English. We’ll look at even more examples in the following sections.

How Do I Know Which Homophone to Use?

It’s important to know which homophone to use to ensure your meaning is clear. But how can you keep up when there are so many homophones to use?

Some homophones have tricks to help you remember them. Let’s look at one of the most commonly confused homophones: to/ too /two. It’s extra tricky because it contains more than two words.

To is a preposition with several meanings. Too means extra or excess. You can remember this by thinking «too has too many Os.» Two is the number 2. Remember «twins» to remind you that we spell this homophone with a TW.

Mnemonic devices can help you remember the difference between two or more words. But there are just too many homophones to come up with a cool trick for all of them!

You can always check the dictionary. Or you can use ProWritingAid. Our Homonym Report will check for all of the homophones and homographs that you might have mixed up in your writing. You can find this report under “More Reports” or add it to your “Combo Report” settings to check for homophones every time.

Try the Homonym Report with a free ProWritingAid account.

What Are Some Examples of Homophones?

We’ve looked at a few examples of English homophones, but there are so many! Let’s go more in depth with our examples.

What Are Some Common Homophones with Their Definitions?

• There/ their /they’re is one of the most commonly confused set of homophones. But these three words have more than just different spellings—they have very different meanings.

  There has a number of applications across different parts of speech, but the definitions relate to a location or place. Their is the third-person plural possessive pronoun. They’re is a contraction that means «they are.»

• Another common homophone pair that people mix up often is your/ you’re. Your is the second-person possessive pronoun. You’re is a contraction that means «you are.»

• Here means “this place,” while hear means “to sense sound.” Whether is a conjunction, while weather is the conditions outdoors.

• One is the number 1. Won is the past tense of the verb «win.» Accept is a verb that means “to receive or to agree.” Except is used to talk about excluding something or someone.

• Another triplet homophone is by/ buy /bye. By is a preposition that usually means “near” or “next to.” Buy is a verb that means “to purchase.” Bye is short for «goodbye.»

• Which is a preposition that means «what one.» A witch is a woman who does magic and might conjure images of pointy black hats and giant cauldrons.

• A way is a path. We use the verb weigh to find out how heavy something is.

• Its is the possessive form of the pronoun «it.» It shows that something belongs to it, e.g., the dog chewed its bone. It’s is a contraction that means «it is.»

We hope these definitions clear up some confusion about common homophones. But how do you use these tricky homophones in your writing?

What Are Some Examples of Homophones in Sentences?

We’ve defined several homophones that are all spelled differently. But the best way to understand homophones is to see them in the wild. Here are some example sentences with homophones.

• I always try to do the right thing. / Do you write fiction or nonfiction?
• When you see a bear, play dead. / My bare arms are freezing!
• Look how much he has grown. / He let out a groan at the terrible joke.
• You’re not allowed to go to the party. / She’s never said the words aloud.
• They will sell their house next year. / Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell.
• Do you know the muffin man? / He had no money left.
• My son is very handsome. / The sun shines brightly.
• Do you think the cake is too sweet? / The hotel suite has two bedrooms and a small kitchen.
• I’m not giving you another cent! / The hounds caught the scent of the rabbit and ran after it.
• He was so angry he punched a hole in the wall. / I was so hungry I ate the whole pie in one sitting.
• She came in fourth at the gymnastics meet. / Go forth and conquer!
• Clean up the mess in the pasta aisle. / Have you ever visited the Isle of Wight?

We could give you homophone examples all day! But now you can apply what you have learned about homophones to your own writing. Can you think of any other homophones that we didn’t include? Let us know in the comments.

---

ProWritingAid works wherever you do

Try our integrations for MS Word, Google Docs, Chrome, Scrivener, and more.

Sign up for a free account now.

Asked by: Solon Gibson

Score: 4.6/5
(24 votes)

Words that having similar sounds are called homonyms. Within the category of homonyms are two commonly confused concepts: homographs and homophones.

What are the sounding words?

Examples of these sound words include:

What are some badass words?

badass

What are 2 words that sound the same?

What Is a Homophone? As mentioned above, sets of words like “you’re” and “your” are called homophones. The root of that word, homo-, means “same,” and the root phone- means “sound.” Homophones are two words that sound the same, but have different meanings.

Can you give me a list of Homographs?

Homograph Examples

44 related questions found